THANK YOU! Hi! I want to thank the voters of Windham, Windsor and Rutland Counties who signed two different petitions for the statewide August 9, 2016 Democratic Primary Election to allow me to appear on the ballot for two offices, U.S. Senator and Governor of Vermontfor the Democratic Party.
2016 Vermont Statewide Primary Election Qualified Candidate List for August 9th https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/757630/2016-statewide-primary-qualified-candidates.pdf
This is my first time appearing in the Democratic Party primary. In the past I have appeared on the ballot in elections as an independent candidate, and prior to that, as a Marijuana party candidate. The Democrats “stole” the marijuana issue; so I am running as a Democrat to try to help insure that freedom doesn’t cost us too much. I believe it should be absolutely free to grow your own marijuana in any amount in your own garden or indoors for your own personal use in any form you wish to use it, in tea or brownies or smoking marijuana. This is an issue of personal freedom!
I have explained to Vermont voters that I agree with the Democratic Party platform, and they have asked me what I will bring to it. They want more than the platform, they want some clear direction. Here are some of my ideas that voters like the best:
(1) No more contracts with the State without a money back guarantee for products, services and websites. The health care website has cost millions of taxpayer dollars, and can you honestly say you are satisfied? If you buy a brand new car or truck for over $50,000. don’t you get a money back guarantee? There has to be an end date and a maximum amount spent on speculative ventures where the contractor is asking for more and more money, because that’s a con game like selling gold mines. Give us more money to dig a little deeper and we’ll surely strike gold. The state has to stop gambling with our tax dollars. Vermonters told me we need a lot more money for many good programs, and if we demand valid contracts with a meeting of the minds, an end date and specific maximum dollar amount to be spent, we can save millions for good programs.
(2) We can increase the amount of money earned in small Vermont towns by installing state run parking lots, concealed behind the main village shops and restraunts, but within short walking distance and wheel chair accessibility. These must be large enough to accomodate up to 30 out-of-state tour buses, and they must have bathrooms, and be completely concealed with fast growing trees and lots of flowers or wreaths. For each small town that agrees to accomodate tourism, the state can contact hundreds and hundreds of tour bus companies from other states and Canada, and bring up to 30 tour buses to each small town every two hours all day long. There are literally hundreds of tour bus companies looking for cute small towns, but they have to have tour bus parking and bathrooms.
The state can finance the moving of small businesses to the town center which sell products and services to tourists such as farm fresh food, astrology readings, wood carving, ceramics, fine art and crafts,Vermont cheeses, wine, micro-brewed beer, and live theatre and music performances in bakeries and restraunts, etc. (The state permitting process has to be drastically simplified to allow each business a lot more activity without a separate permit for each activity.) The state can allow itinerant musicians and street artists with easels to do their work for donations, and keep receipts to prove they buy their food in town, to sleep in their vehicles or tents overnight in the state parking lots. The state parking lot bathrooms have to have security video cameras, state police giving day permits to itinerant workers, and showers to accomodate tourists who get diarrhea, and to accomodate travelling musicians and artists. Small towns will remain small towns, and be quiet and peaceful at night because the tour buses will leave every night, and there will only be 30 spaces for itinerants overnight.
The goal is NOT to increase the population of Vermont, just increase the amount of money earned per small town worker in Vermont. The travelling musicians and artists will not take money away from local artists and musicians because they attract more tourists, so they end up generating more business than they take.
(3) Our federal taxpayer dollars are spent when the U.S. Congress votes to give billions of dollars to the N.I.H. National Institute of Health) which gives billions of dollars to the pharmaceutical industry for research. The pharmaceutical company ends up owning the patents for medicines and making all the profit. Why? We paid for the research, why don’t we own a minimum of 50% of the patents and profits and put that money back into the U.S. Treasury or cut the cost of prescriptions in half?
Remember, the statewide Vermont primary is Aug. 9, 2016 and I hope that people will not be so totally and completely disgusted with politics by then that they fail to vote. I collected petition signatures from March 8th until April 29th, and I have never heard so many unhappy voters, and voters who are angry. Calm down. Don’t up and move to Canada if so and so wins for President. We’ll work things out here in Vermont and make this the best state in the Country!
Cris Ericson
2016 Democratic Party Primary Election Candidate, for Governor and for United States Senator. http://www.crisericson.com
crisericson@yahoo.com
https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/757630/2016-statewide-primary-qualified-candidates.pdf
2016 Statewide Primary Qualified Candidate List
https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/757630/2016-statewide-primary-qualified-candidates.pdf
Vermont Secretary of State, Elections Division Attorney: Will Senning (802)828-0175
